Thursday, March 31, 2011

Second Grade teacher Mrs. Sherman talks about ways she uses a document camera in the classroom.

It's great to see how excited the kids are using the camera and how many ways the teacher has found to incorporate its use into the day. She's using an Ipevo camera which basically a web cam on an adjustable arm, but it works great an is only about $70.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

Here we use Google Forms to collect assessment data. We're able to analyze student scores over time, by grade level, location, or any number of variables we've collected. An important aspect of the data collection that we're working on is having student work included into the data collection. There are many systems that can analyze assessment data, but I think because our kids are already digitizing their work in Google Apps, making that connection between scores and the actual work is an important way for teachers to easily see what those scores represent. An added bonus to this is the ability for the students portfolio to be built at the same time.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

In this video we chat with one of my students who works as the webmaster for his english teacher.

I really love this. The student webmaster setup is a win-win for everyone involved. The teacher has help keeping their website up to date and the student learns something about working on a project that is real. Anyone can see the work that they've done. Obviously there is a lot of trust involved and it's important that the kids appreciate the professional aspects of showing this public face to parents, administrators, etc. Plus it makes a great portfolio piece for students.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

A tutorial on how to upload an MP3 and embed an Audio Player into a Google Site.

As students become more and more adept with the technology, it's important that they help teach how to use it to others. This can be working with younger students, or providing tech support for teachers.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

One of our students discusses how she uses her digital portfolio to refer to as she needs.

This video really sums up one of the most important reasons for students to take an active role in managing their portfolios. When a students work is digitized and easily accessible, they can refer back to work as needed. The work should build with them over time and provide a resources that they own and have curated.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

One of our eighth graders walks through the steps of getting a copy of a Language Arts Portfolio and sending the link back to the teacher. Here are the templates he covers.

An important aspect of having students manage their own portfolios is that they are involved in the creation process. We have a template that we use with the students in high school because they are closer to graduation, but ideally when the student graduates and when they go to their own domain name, they would see the work they've been managing for years. Ultimately the portfolio is for them, as educators we simply need to check that it's done and represents the best the student has to offer.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

Three of our students walk through the steps of digitizing their work with an iPod Touch and inserting the work on their digital portfolio.

I think it's important for students to be in charge of digitizing their own work. It's too much to ask teachers who are already so busy as it is, and it's a skill set that will help the students later on. I've generally found students fifth grade and up can handle the technical responsibility, and we're working with younger students developing ways to help teachers streamline the process.

For an outline of all the videos in the context of a larger educational framework, please visit:

As teachers use Google Docs more and more, it becomes important for them to develop methods to manage all those shared documents. Here is a way one of our teachers has set up a collection form with Docs.

About Me

Starting my career as an elementary teacher at the Parawai School in New Zealand, I am currently the Educational Technologist at Regional School Unit #19 in central Maine. I have provided support to educators for over a decade and conducted professional development across the world. I have always loved working with students with a special focus on having them teach others. I work with student presenters in a weekly live tech support show broadcast at www.techsherpas.org. ACTEM’s 2013 Educator of the year, I have brought students to numerous conferences such as Maine's ACTEM conference, Alan November's Building Learning Communities and the Google Teacher Academy.